In this post you will learn some basic Japanese words. As you probably know many Japanese phrases and common expressions are quite difficult for the beginner. For example, the common greeting phrases はじめまして (hajimemashite)　and  よろしく　おねがいします (yoroshiku onegaishimasu) are pretty difficult words to get your tounge around.  However, these difficult and quite formal expressions are usually the first words a student is taught. We are going to have some and just learn some basic Japanese words.

We will focus on some common adjectives. There are two kinds of adjectives in Japanese　い-ending adjectives and な-ending adjectives. Will we focus on い-ending adjectives as they are usually more common and expressive. い-ending adjectives, especially adjectives that end with しい express human emotions and feelings. Examples are below;

さびしい　－　sabishii – loney (as in missing someone)

かなしい　－ kanashii – sad

うれしい　 － ureshii  – happy

These adjectives all end in しい(shii). Notice how they express powerful emotions.

Time to learn some basic words – watch the video and repeat after Kaoru Sensei. We won’t worry about kanji characters for the moment.  Hopefully you can read hiragana.

Note: ふとい describes objects that are thick or wide.  ふとい is not used to describe people who are large or fat. The common term to describe fat people is でぶ(debu). でぶ is a な-adjective. If we place でぶ before the noun person/people  ひと(hito) we would have でぶなひと. The  な of a  な-adjective is only placed before a noun. If you say a　な-adjective on its own or without the noun, you drop the な. For example, あのこは　でぶですね. That child is fat. There is no noun after でぶ. So there is no な. More on this in another post.

Alright now that you have watched the video here are a few revision questions.

What are two ways to say good in Japanese?

What is the opposite of  ながい?

How do you say big in Japanese?

What does わるい mean?

What is the opposite of かるい?

How do you say old and new in Japanese?

What does ちいさい mean?

I hope you enjoyed this lesson on basic Japanese words. One of the best ways to learn Japanese is to give learning  grammar and kanji a break, and just learn lots of Japanese words. However, you should keep in mind being able to read Japanese characters can dramatically increase your abiltiy to learn new words. Mix up your Japanese study and try to keep learning fun and stimulating.